UPDATE!!!

Ok, I don't want to count my chickens too soon. But we've been told that no news is good news - and we haven't received any more news!!!

So . . . we're on day 3! We know that Anthony is getting better. He has/had a staff infection near/in his umbilical area. He is on antibiotics to take care of it. It is a non-resistant strain - which is a GOOD thing. It is NOT MRSA - which is a GREAT thing!!!

And we have 7 days left to go. The doctor wants us to stay the full 10 days so that Anthony can get the full amount of antibiotics through the IV. There just isn't a better way with him being so young. We're in good hands though.

I am probably going to go stir crazy before next Friday, but it will all be worth it to have Anthony home and healthy!!! I'll be able to go home tomorrow though (my parents are coming to help) and get some things for entertainment and fresh clothes!

There have been moments when the load has felt lighter - trying to play with Augie and keep him busy. Here are some of the highlight pictures of Augie that we've caught in between:

Augie learning to enjoy the children's floor -

and entertain himself when stuck in brother's room -

And Anthony - just hanging in there and getting a lot of one-on-one mommy time -

It is really a new adventure everyday when you have these wonderful gifts in your life! God bless all the little children!

Anthony Update - Friday at almost 8:00am

Well, we swithced our IV yesterday. The one in his hand had slipped and caused a tiny hardness that was preventing the nurses from pushing the medicine in, so we had to change to one of my little man's feet.

I'm glad they got it, and it is doing good so far. I just hope it stays that way. He is quite the mover and tends to kick A LOT!

Prayer #1 - Please don't let him knock out his IV again. Or let it last as long as possible - a few days would be great!!!


The days are a little long, but the mornings go by pretty quick. This morning Anthony is wide awake and being very active. I caught this picture on my phone - so it's a little blurry. But he was being really funny and making lots of fun faces!


Prayer #2 - Thank you for giving me such a happy baby. Please let him continue to be so easy going and get through this in this same good nature!


Now, we're just hanging out. We have a big day today.

We're both going to bathe!!!
We're supposed to get the results of the 72 hour culture. Nothing has grown as of yet, but

Prayer #3 - Please let today's cultures still be clear of growth. Please help our Anthony to continue to receive the proper antibiotics to make him better and get home healthy!!!


More to come - we do have another week to be here - so I will continue to update as much as possible!
Please continue to pray for our Anthony!

Prayers Please!

I know that everything happens for a reason - and things could be worse, but sometimes the weight of trying to be strong can be quite heavy, so I figured, maybe I should type it out.

So,here it goes!!!

I can't express the way that I feel completely. Sometimes I am ok, and I feel like I can handle this without another tear. But then, I try to talk and the tears come with the words. My poor little baby Anthony is in the hospital, and he's not even a month old. Like I said, I know it's for a reason!!! And we caught everything early and are getting medicine that is going to make everything better. And we're praying that it doesn't get any worse.

Let me fill in some of the blanks. Tues. morning we left for the doctor at 8:30. I had an apmnt to have my incision from the C-section checked out. I made an apmt for Anthony after that because I noticed a hard mass under his left nipple. I planned on asking about his belly button also. I had noticed the skin around it was pink/red and looked a little infected. I was more worried about the nipple mass than the belly button though.

Turns out, I was a little backwards. The mass under the nipple is no big deal - probably just some of my own hormones that are still in his little body.
But the belly button is a big concern. Tears came before the doctor even told me we had to go to the hospital - all he had to say was that it was a big concern. So, you can only imagine how many more fell when we heard "he needs to be admitted."

Anthony has Omphalitis - inflamation of the area around the umbilicus. Scarey because of the blood vessels that run through there go to the whole blood stream. That is how babies get all their nutrients while in the womb - so it makes sense.
More over, in a baby so young, it can make the infection even more dangerous. So, we needed to be admitted to the hospital immediately so we could start the antibiotics - intraveniously is the best way for newborns - (orally isn't always successful when they are so tiny) especially with Anthony's spitting up habits! SO . . . we called Gus, he met us, and off we went.

Anthony and I have not been home since.

Note to self (and anyone who hasn't had their baby in the hospital): It is one sad thing to see a baby in the hospital - It is gut wrenching when it is your own child!

Luckily, the worst thing we have right now is an IV.



He is still doing pretty good considering. Eating, Sleeping, Pooping, etc. - all normal. No fever.


And he's still growing and changing and hitting landmarks - like smiling - with his eyes open! What a good sport!!!


I know that there are others who have been through similar - and worse - and I pray that few have to ever experience the shock of their infant in a hospital bed other than the one their mommy is laying in after giving birth. No matter the degree of illness, it is a difficult and very emotional experience.

Any & all prayers are greatly appreciated!!!

Oh -The Places We Will Go . . .

And the things that we sill see . . .

Like our first born son getting bigger and smarter by the day. He isn't full out talking yet, but he is definitely saying "words.". And he understands SO much!!! He listens very well and is Mr.Independent now!!! It is just crazy to think that he's about to be 18 months old.
He is VERY active, interactive, social,and a BIG TIME show off. Gus calls him the "Mayor of Carrollton," because he waves at all the cars and people that go by when we're out and about. And - yes - he gets pretty much 95% of their attention too!

Some recent big boy pictures of our first baby -






And then there's our second addition!
And watching him turn 2 weeks old. And seeing him become more alert, and stay awake for longer periods of time, and get his official Staats pot-belly. And catch him playing with the angels in his sleep.

This is our little Anthony today - 2 weeks old (as of yesterday):

Here's a little preview of the precious moments that we got to capture of our little Anthony's first couple of weeks in the world:






So - the places I will go:
I cannot express how it feels - there are no words to describe it - but I could have never imagined my life and where am I now and how wonderfully blessed I would be. And I look forward to all the new, upcoming challenges that will present themselves on the road ahead.
And - the things that I will see:
And I am so glad that we have convenient, pocket sized, digital cameras to capture the awesomeness that are the blessed moments in our lives.


So, no matter where we go, or what we see, we know and are extremely thankful that God has blessed us with such a deep love.
We pray that everyone has a blessed Easter - full of the sharing and celebration of new life that comes with this special holiday.

BROTHERS!!!

So, the biggest question lately has been, "How is Augie taking to his new baby brother being at home?"

I can honestly say that he is doing about as good as possible! He wants to check on his brother when he wakes up. He wants to kiss him good night before bed. He points to him when we ask where his brother (or Tony) is. He will randomly walk over and point to him and want to kiss him. But he's not overly-concerned with him - you know, wanting to touch and hold him ALL the time. He is very calm and cool about the whole thing.

This video just gives you a small idea of how great Aug's doing with his new little brother!

Friday Fun!

Well,

I probably have exactly one minute to try and get this done! So, I'm going to have to leave you with JUST THE FUN STUFF!!!

you can see lots of fun pictures of our new one at: staatspac.shutterfly.com

Look in the Anthony Emmanuel album - there are TONS of pictures from the past few days!

We are home now! Everyone is doing well. Anthony is healthy. Augie is happy that his "brub-ber" is here. And Mommy and Daddy are excited to be back home - just a little tired!

Today's the Day!!!

I guess my boys are nice and comfy in Mommy's tummy, because we've made it up to the day once again. It is SO wierd to have this "planned."

We'll be in the hospital by 10:00, surgery by noon, and hopefully in a room with Anthony by 2:00!!!

We'll take any prayers that anyone wants to throw up there. It is still a new, scarey experience - even though it's been done before. There are so many emotions flying around that I can't pin down just one to sum up my feelings right now.

So, to avoid tears and mental chaos - I'll go put on some mascara and change my clothes (since I know the baby's coming today, and I can do that). It's almost time to go!!!

God Bless everyone!
We'll talk to you soon as a StaatsPac of FOUR!!!